Tula, the most faithful Argentine fan, dies

There are people who are better known by their nickname than by their name and by an object than by its characteristics.

If someone in Argentina asked about Carlos Pascual, no one would know what to answer: he would be completely anonymous.

On the other hand, if the question were about

Tula

, the reaction would be mostly immediate: a famous soccer fan, especially of the Argentine team, but not just any fan, but one who always traveled with a bass drum as an extension of his body and spirit. his breath, to the point that Tula without the bass drum would not have been Tula.

In a country that makes stadium stands a place of worship, almost of national pride, his figure acquired special importance because he was the pioneer in making himself noticed: he was the first fan to accompany the Argentine team in the World Cups, the of West Germany 1974, and he did not stop doing so until his thirteenth World Cup, in Qatar 2022, now at 82 years old and in wheelchairs, militancy that led FIFA, in January 2023, to award him The Best award in representation of the best fans of the previous year.

Already 83, and hospitalized for a week, the Maradona or Messi of the hype died this Wednesday in Buenos Aires.

Tula, in fact, began to accompany his team, Rosario Central.

A photo published by the magazine

El Grafico

, in 1971, shows him in the National Stadium of Peru following the

scoundrels

in a match against Universitario de Lima for the Copa Libertadores.

“The hype man: since he was seven he has followed Central.

Today he has 27 and is always accompanied by his bass drum.

His name is Carlos Tula and the instrument was given to him six years ago by Boerio (in reference to Adolfo, former president of Central).

Against the 'U' they did not want to let him enter the field.

Finally he was able to do it and the Rosario public treated him with complete correctness,” the caption reported.

The Tula drums evolved and began to have, in addition to the Central colors, the shield of the Justicialista Party, the political movement of Juan Domingo Perón.

According to the fan himself, also in 1971 he met the leader during his exile in Madrid, waiting for his return to the Casa Rosada for his third presidency: Perón gave him a new instrument that Tula began to use for the national team.

In what is usually known as the first fan to travel from Argentina to a World Cup, the 1974 World Cup, Tula appeared alongside the players and in the stands with a drum with a double inscription, Argentina and Perón - who would die during the tournament-.

It was also the beginning of a modern postcard: the presence of the albiceleste fans, often with members of the bravas bands, at the World Cups.

For reasons not clarified, perhaps internal discussions or his sudden closeness to political militancy - although he would never hold any state position -, Tula was separated from the Central fans and tried to get closer to those of other teams.

One night in 1974 he entered, always with his hype, onto the Independiente field for a Copa Libertadores match against Peñarol of Uruguay.

The members of the local bar, however, did not like his presence and asked him to leave: they even thought about removing his bass drum, already a reference.

But even if he no longer belonged to any team, Tula would never stop traveling to the World Cups—many times financed by politics, other times at his own expense—or appearing at Peronist rallies.

Tula, which was never known to be involved in acts of violence - always more folkloric and loved by fans than part of a criminal gang - also gained relevance due to the context: a few years later, the bars would begin to gain greater prominence and they would do so with the bass drums and the flags as part of their reference.

If until West Germany 1974 the mobilization of fans to the World Cups played in other countries had been marginal - except for the final in Uruguay 1930, for which thousands of Argentines crossed the Río de la Plata -, after Argentina 1978 the trips of organized groups.

Although the bars were born in the 60s and grew in the 70s, it was in the 80s when they consolidated and began to use firearms, forged pacts with politicians, expanded their businesses, made extortion their preferred method, and They became uncontrollable.

Although the Falklands War frustrated the initiative for Spain 1982, 2,000 Argentines in Mexico 86 witnessed Maradon's feat against England at the Azteca: in addition to a handful of brats, Tula was also there, on their own and with the hype.

The landscape of Italia 90 was similar, with high-profile bars among the small number of fans who avoided the hyperinflation of the initial months of Carlos Menem's government, until an increasingly connected world and the initial benefits of the convertibility plan - before its outbreak - enabled the first mass travelers starting in the 90s. Since the United States 1994, and with the sole exception of South Korea-Japan 2002 due to the corralito, the presence of thousands of Argentine fans at the World Cups It was a regular postcard, also in France 1998, Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.

Although more camouflaged among the hundreds or thousands of Argentine fans, Tula was also a kind of creator of the club of “solitary” supporters in the World Cups: in Spain 1982, the local Manuel Cáceres, better known as “Manolo el del Bombo” became famous. , and in Italy 1990 Gustavo Llanos, the “Cole” of Colombia – with feathers, without hype –, both in some way imitators or continuators of Tula.

In January 2023, to receive The Best award, FIFA chose Tula as the representative of the Argentine fans, the winner of the previous year for their support of the world champion team in Qatar 2022. When the old fan took the stage of the gala in Paris, many of the men in suits who occupied the theater seats laughed at the instrument and the appearance of the figure in the stands at the World Cups since West Germany 1974, as if he were a Martian at that type of evening.

Tula was a man of the stadiums.

But always with his hype.

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